Rep. Vasquez Pressures House Leadership to Cut Red Tape and Overhaul FEMA Disaster Relief for New Mexicans

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On February 2, 2026, U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) pushed to make the federal emergency management system more efficient by cutting red tape to help communities impacted by disasters — like Ruidoso — recover and rebuild faster. In a letter to Speaker Johnson and Leader Jeffries, Rep. Vasquez pressured House leadership to bring the bipartisan Fixing Emergency Management for Americans (FEMA) Act, which he is cosponsoring, to the floor for a vote.

In response to recent flooding in Ruidoso and the Salt and South Fork fires, the Congressman has been working to reform FEMA and bring more disaster preparedness funding to New Mexico. The letter is joined by 49 bipartisan cosigners and the legislation has strong bipartisan support.

“I’ve seen firsthand the devastating impact of natural disasters and the tragedy they bring to our communities and rural economies, as was the case with the recent Salt and South Fork fires and subsequent flooding,” said Vasquez. “FEMA must be drastically improved to provide timely and effective relief and economic assistance. That’s why I’m proud to support this bipartisan, commonsense bill to get disaster funding to our communities sooner. Let’s cut the red tape and allow our communities to rebuild as quickly as possible.”

The Congressman’s bill would help communities prepare for and respond to natural disasters by implementing significant, commonsense reforms, including:

• Directing FEMA to apply practical, survivor-focused solutions that expedite assistance to disaster victims and reduce overall costs to taxpayers
• Putting disaster-impacted states at the center to help funding reach communities faster and making critical improvements to improve the rebuilding process
• Ensuring that politics do not play a role in disaster response and increasing transparency and accountability requirements for FEMA
• Cutting bureaucratic red tape to streamline disaster recovery assistance applications, creating a "Universal Application” that allows disaster survivors to apply for and receive assistance more quickly
• Strengthening efforts to protect communities before disasters occur and overhauling FEMA’s existing mitigation framework to accelerate project timelines, reduce long-term disaster costs, and ensure greater coordination at all levels of government
• Establishing programs to protect individuals affected by disasters, including requiring an assessment of identity and fraud risk and creating a Veterans’ Advocate within FEMA

Vasquez has pushed to improve disaster prevention and response at both the federal and local level, including:

• Introducing the bipartisan Championing Local Efforts to Advance Resilience (CLEAR) Act, a bill to help communities better prepare for and recover from extreme weather and natural disasters.
• Working to improve Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and get funding to New Mexican communities in need, including sending a letter to DHS Secretary Noem to reverse a policy that requires her personal approval on all projects over $100,000 — a policy that delayed critical aid after summer flooding in Ruidoso in 2025.
• Supporting robust funding for FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund, which supports critical support for wildfire, flooding and disaster response.
• Securing $137 million in federal investments for wildfire recovery and flood mitigation in Southern New Mexico.

Rep. Vasquez was also among the first House Democrats to call for the impeachment of Secretary Noem, who oversees FEMA, and he remains a leading voice in calls for her removal. 

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